RSD bonuses to exceed $750,000The Russellville Board of Education granted the district's employees a $750 holiday bonus during its monthly meeting on Tuesday. Superintendent Randall Williams and Assistant to the Superintendent/Business Manager Nathan Barber recommended a $750 bonus for licensed employees and $600 bonus for classified employees, which would result in a $700,000 expenditure. Board member Chris Cloud pointed out it would cost about $75,000 more to give every ...

Pottsville approves several student tripsPOTTSVILLE — The Pottsville Board of Education approved an out-of-state trip and two overnight trips for student groups during its regular meeting Thursday. The board approved for 35 high school students to travel out of state to attend Sea Camp in August. An overnight trip to Little Rock for the Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) club and an overnight trip to Searcy for the girls basketball team were also approved. The bo...

Pope County teachers get grantsEight Pope County teachers were chosen to receive 10 Science Initiative for Middle Schools (SIMS) $500 mini-grants from the Arkansas Community Foundation. “These science mini-grants enhance the programs already in place in the schools or, in a few cases, they are extras that are made possible because of the grants,” Madelyn Ginsberg, Community Foundation executive director, said. SIMS programs are designed to spark students' interest by provid...

RSD recommended for National AccreditationRussellville School District recently went through the process of national accreditation with the organization AdvancED. During the exit report, the external review team recommended to the AdvancED Accreditation Commission that RSD earn the distinction of accreditation by AdvancED for a five-year term. The accreditation process is scored by the external review team as an Index of Education Quality (IEQ) that is divided into three evaluative cr...

Lamar approves new bid for camerasLAMAR — A misinterpreted bid caused the Lamar Board of Education to rescind its approval for 12 bus cameras during its regular meeting Monday. Although a bid from Southwestern Sales was approved during the October meeting, the board approved to rescind the $13,888 bid and then approved a $16,860 bid from Pro-Vision. Superintendent Roy Hester said after he called Southwestern Sales to confirm the purchase, he realized there was a misunderstandi...

RHS places 4th in Atkins bowlATKINS — The Russellville High School (RHS) Cyclone Quiz Bowl teams recently competed in the inaugural Atkins High School tournament. The Cyclone varsity squad posted a 4-3 record for the day, bringing home fourth-place honors. The Cyclones drew the RHS junior varsity (JV) team in game one and defeated their teammates 295-120. In game two, the Cyclones lost to Conway 305-300 on the last question of a hard-fought game. In game three, the Cyclon...

Deputy visits with criminal justice studentsSeveral students sat inside the back of a Pope County Sheriff's Office (PCSO) police car on Tuesday — for educational purposes. PCSO Deputy Kirk Turner visited students in the criminal justice class at the Arkansas Tech University (ATU) Career Center. Turner said he valued the opportunity to speak with students who might become a member of his profession. "It teaches them what we do at the sheriff's office and that we are not just arresting ev...

RHS presents fall show next weekRussellville High School Cyclone Theatre will present its fall show, “Over the River and Through the Woods” at 7 p.m. on Nov. 18, 20 and 21 in the Black Box Theatre at The Center for the Arts. The play revolves around Nick, a much beloved grandson, who tells his grandparents that his job promotion is moving him away from his beloved grandparents in New Jersey to Seattle, Wash. This news doesn’t sit so well with his grandparents, and begins a s...

Hector handles fiscal distressHECTOR — The Hector School District remains on the Arkansas Department of Education fiscal distress list but now has “a good handle on everything,” Superintendent Walt Davis told the school board during its brief regular meeting Monday. Davis said he would be attending a meeting in Little Rock on Thursday where the district’s financial progress would be reviewed. He said it was unrealistic to expect to be removed from the watch list this soon,...

RJHS awarded for test performanceRussellville Junior High School (RJHS) was awarded recognition from the Office for Education Policy (OEP) at the University of Arkansas for high performance on the End-of-Course (EOC) exams. RJHS received a “High-Achieving School” award for being one of the Top 10 Arkansas Junior High Schools based on EOC geometry achievement scores, with 97 percent of students being proficient or advanced on the EOC geometry exam. “We are extremely proud of t...

RSD participates in national accreditationThe Russellville School District (RSD) went through the final stages of national accreditation with a visit from the AdvancED accreditation team on Monday through Wednesday. AdvancED is a nonprofit organization that conducts rigorous, onsite external reviews of pre-kindergarten through 12th grade schools. The district began working on the accreditation process in May and has conducted surveys with teachers and parents and completed an internal...

Renovations bring new life, new role to Caraway HallOne of the most recognizable and historic facilities at Arkansas Tech University is now a hub for Greek life on campus. Opened in March 1935, Caraway Hall has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1992. It was named in memory of Sen. Thaddeus Caraway. His widow, Sen. Hattie Caraway, spoke at the dedication of the building in October 1935. Almost eight decades later, a $528,000 interior renovation has transformed Caraway...

Marshallese population to be studied SPRINGDALE (AP) — A panel discussion that explores the health disparities, cultural understanding and social policies of the state's thousands of Marshallese residents has been scheduled for next week. The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Northwest will explore the issues at a free health forum Nov. 13 at the Jones Center Chapel in Springdale. Northwest Arkansas is home to between 8,000 and 12,000 Marshallese residents — the largest...

Tech hosts topping out ceremonyArkansas Tech University celebrated the placing of the final beam on its new academic, administrative and student support facility during a topping out ceremony held on Monday in Russellville. Members of the community gathered in front of the structure and heard remarks from Dr. Robin Bowen, President of ATU and Bill Eaton, Mayor of Russellville. The structure, which is to be named in honor of Dr. Robert Charles Brown and his wife, Jill Lestag...

ATU Department of Agriculture hosts guest speaker tonightJournalist Krissa Welshans will offer a lecture entitled “Agriculture’s Dilemma: Feeding a Growing Population Amidst Social and Political Change” during an event hosted by the Arkansas Tech University Department of Agriculture on Tuesday. Welshans will speak at 6 p.m. in the Doc Bryan Student Services Center Lecture Hall, which is located on the Arkansas Tech campus in Russellville at 1605 Coliseum Drive. Admission will be free and open to the...

Pizza and limosSeventy-six Pottsville Middle Grade students were treated to a limo ride and pizza party Friday for selling 15 or more boxes of cookie dough during the school’s annual fundraiser. Money raised will go toward the purchase of a playground canopy. The overall top seller was fourth grader Anthony Chenowith who received an iPad. Top sellers for each grade were Hunter Williams for fourth grade, Rilee Underwood for fifth grade and Zander Holland for ...

ATU topping ceremony set for MondayArkansas Tech University will host a topping-out ceremony for its new academic, student support and administrative facility on Monday. The ceremony will begin at 3 p.m. near the intersection of West O Street and Coliseum Drive, where construction is underway on a 66,900-square-foot building. The public is invited to attend. ATU students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends can leave their mark on the project by signing the beam that will repres...

Creative writing program to celebrate 40 years with readingFour decades ago, Arkansas Tech University faculty members Frances Gwaltney and B.C. Hall had a vision for creating a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in creative writing. On Nov. 13, faculty and students from the Arkansas Tech Department of English and World Languages will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the founding of that degree with a free public reading and reception. Five faculty authors from the department — Dr. Emily Hoffman, Paul Lake,...

RHS Quiz Bowl team places thirdThe Russellville High School (RHS) Quiz Bowl team competed recently in the Watson Chapel Invitational Tournament at Pine Bluff. The Cyclones ended with a 5-2 record, good enough for a third-place finish. Russellville started off with a loss to Conway by a score of 290-225. The Cyclones rebounded in game two with a 290-40 win over Fountain Lake. The Cyclones next lost a tough game to Episcopal Collegiate that was much closer than the 370-235 sc...

RHS students benefit from career fairRussellville High School (RHS) students were presented the opportunity to visit with more than 30 college, job and military recruiters during a career fair Tuesday. Recruiters were stationed in the high school's safe room for parents and future graduates to access after picking up report cards and speaking with teachers during parent/teacher conferences. Though only a junior, Atziri Cruz was at the event to hand out information about the Ameri...